美国海岸警卫队根据《美国海港和水路安全法案》要求所有船舶报告所有 “船上危险情况” 。另需向美国海岸警卫队递交一份书面报告。
危险情况包括可能严重影响船舶安全、或环境、港口、航道、海港安全的任何情况，并不局限于诸如碰撞、搁浅等危险情况。
因疏忽而没有报告危险情况可能导致民事诉讼。有意或故意不上报危险情况，可能导致包括船东和船员在内的刑事指控。
US v Canal Barge Co (2011) 一案中，一艘驳船船壳出现一条裂缝，并采取了临时性修理。这一事件和临时裂缝修理都没有上报给美国海岸警卫队。该临时性修理随后出现了问题，导致苯货物漏出船体，美国海岸警卫队随即发现了该裂缝的相关情况。
船东、船舶管理人及船长受到指控，理由是有意不上报危险情况（刑事指控）或疏忽不上报（民事指控），共谋违背美国法律（刑事指控）。
法院判决，所有被告明知并有意地不上报船壳裂缝，刑事罪名成立。法院认为，本案被告违反公司船舶应急计划中对此类事件和泄漏的报告要求，并且船长未在航海日志中记录裂缝、修理及泄漏事件。
因此，需加强船员培训，令其理解美国报告要求，以及不报告或违反报告要求的后果。
以上由 ANDREW LIU & CO.,LTD 编译，应以英文为准！
详细信息请参阅附件。
Consequences of Negligent and criminal failure to report in the US
USCG under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act require any vessel to notify any ‘hazardous condition on board’. There is additional responsibility to send a written report to USCG.
A hazardous condition includes any condition that may adversely affect the safety of the vessel or the environment, port, waterway, harbor, and a casualty such as a collision or grounding is not necessary for a hazardous condition to exist on board.
A negligent failure to report a hazardous condition may be subject to a civil prosecution. A willful or knowing failure to report a hazardous condition may be subject to a criminal prosecution and will include criminal charges against the owner and the crew.
In the case of US v Canal Barge Co (2011), a barge had a crack in her hull and temporary repairs were carried out. This incident and the temporarily repaired crack was not reported to the USCG. The USCG found out about the circumstances of the crack
It was held all the defendants were criminally liable as they knowingly and willfully failed to report the crack. In coming to this conclusion, it was taken into account there was a breach of the company’s vessel response plan which required the reporting of such an incident and spill, and there was a failure by the master to mention the crack, repairs and spill in the vessel’s logs.
It is important the vessel’s crew is trained to understand US reporting requirements and the consequences of such failures or breaches.
See attached file : ALCO20120010Consequences of Negligent and criminal failure to report in the US.pdf
